Professional Services

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Where are you on your path to success? You don’t have to leave your creative self behind while you market your work. ARTIST CAREER TRAINING can give you the information and inspiration to help you make a better living making art. No drivel here ~ just friendly, focused information to let you get back to making art.  NAIA members receive a 10% discount.

last update of this page: November 13, 2009

Specific insurance companies and plans are mentioned in this article. Neither the author nor NAIA specifically endorses any of these insurance companies or plans.

Obstacles
Through our efforts we have encountered two primary obstacles toward our goal. First, current federal law does not regulate the size of a group that insurance companies must insure. Because of this, insurance companies deem the NAIA “too small” with which to do business. Under the current insurance industry/regulation structure, it is doubtful that insurance companies would ever work with the NAIA. To complicate matters – and this leads us to the second major obstacle – federal law also pretty much allows states to regulate insurance within their own jurisdiction. There are minimal federal regulations. Therefore each state’s insurance regulations will vary. For a chart summarizing key state rules limiting discrimination based on health status by individual health insurance companies see HealthInsuranceInfo.net.

As a side issue because of state insurance regulation, insurance companies are not allowed to cross over state lines. This is why even large insurance companies and organizations like Blue Cross Blue Shield and National Association of the Self Employed have differing policies for each state or cannot provide coverage in all states.

NAIA is a national organization and our members are distributed throughout the country – and some are even international. It would be much easier if our members were concentrated in one state as then we would be eligible under a specific state’s regulations. As it stands even some of the large national groups with hundreds of thousands of members such as National Association of the Self Employed cannot give health insurance to members in certain states. This statement is from their own web site:

“Association membership requirements vary by state. Insurance plans are underwritten by The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, a HealthMarketsSM Company. Administrative office: North Richland Hills, TX. Licensed in all states except NY, however, coverage is not available in all states. Exclusions and limitations apply.”

Over the past couple of years we have heard about bills introduced into Congress that would require insurance companies to offer affordable group insurance rates to small group organizations such as the NAIA and others that would allow insurance companies to cross over state regulations. Of course, if the legislation has not passed and as each congress ends, this type of legislation must be reintroduced. We continue to keep our ear to the ground in regards to this type of legislation.

NAIA as an Information Source

In the meantime, the NAIA has refocused its efforts toward being the “go to” information source for members and artists in their search for affordable health insurance.

For more detailed information, click here.

Complete digital imaging services.

Sanders Visual Images offers complete photographic services to artists in all media. From the smallest to the largest artworks, Larry works with artists to get them what they want, when they need it. He has a full service digital photo studio including high resolution photography, digital retouching and enhancements, Zapp, Juried Art Services and all other digital applications. He also offers the unique roll-up cloth display banners as well as convention photo enlargements; booth photos on location, at shows or in my studio; special web site photography pricing, and postcards all at reasonable prices. Be sure to tell him you are a member to get the discount.

Vibrant Image is a Photographic and Digital Design Studio specializing in jury images and websites for artists. Serving artists nationwide are award-winning photographer and designer David Romero. Please visit his website to view samples of his work and to request a quote. Be sure to mention NAIA membership to receive the discount.

ACTinsPro.com, or ACT, is an established online insurance portal designed specifically for artists, crafters & tradesmen. Our policy options include short-term policies and annual policies, allowing our clients to choose the plan that best fits them. Our short-term policies start at $39 and include general liability, medical expenses, and damage to rented premises, which makes this a perfect policy for artists and crafters participating in fairs and events. Our annual policy starts at $265 and is comprehensive. It includes all the short-term coverages, plus product liability, advertising injury, identity recovery, business personal property coverage, and optional professional liability. ACTinsPro.com is managed by Veracity Insurance Solutions, LLC.

NAIA members now can sign-up with TeaMac with ‘0’, that’s Zero application fee!